Well I woke up around 5 and unfortunately it was still raining. So I made some oatmeal and had the rest of my pinwheel from the previous night. I was thinking waiting until later in the morning to get going so I could see if the rain would let up. However I checked the weather and it was supposed to rain on and off all day. So I thought I could get wet later and lose 3 hours of riding time, or get wet now and get riding. So that's what I decided. I packed up the bike and got moving. Today was the day the new Garmin 2730 with XM and the MP3 player would prove its worth. I don't normally like listening to music while I ride, but the music helped the pass the time. I was hoping to make it to St John or so for the day. However, when I made the border at 10, I was thinking I could perhaps make the southern end of Cape Breton.
The border bridge at Calais Maine.
It was still 478 miles from the border and I had already ridden 180 or so miles. I decided I would give it a shot. I stopped in St Stephen, New Brunswick for breakfast/ early lunch at the Red Rooster.
I had the breakfast special with eggs, homefries, toast and bacon. Apparently up there you have a choice of bacon, sausage, ham, or baloney. Baloney? After breakfast I got back on the road. As I was riding it hit me. I was doing it. I was finally doing the trip I'd been talking about for 10 years. Solo no less. I just stuck to the highway since it was raining and I wasn't in the mood for site seeing in the rain. I made it to St John in no time and it cleared up so I keep going to Moncton. I kept going. I would stop every 100 or so miles for a quick break and gas. Finally near Pictou I looked on the GPS for a place to stay near Port Hawkesbury Cape Breton. I found a place that had small one room cabins and it was 20 miles past Port Hawkesbury. So on I went, on, and on, and on. At first it seemed cool because it was farther than I had ever gone in a day. Then it just began to drag on. It was raining really hard. I finally got to Port Hawkesbury. Then it was just 30 more miles to my cabin and the rain was letting up.
I stopped along Bras d'Or Lake to take a picture. I didn't take many today.
I finally got there and there were no cabin. The place was supposed to be in Inverness but I was in Whycocomagh. What's going on? So I called the place. They were by Cheticamp! Ahhh! That's on the other end of the island 60 kilometers away! So off I went again and of course it started pouring. Then it got dark. It was raining so hard I was getting wet through my jacket. I finally pulled in at around 8pm their time. I had been riding 13 hours with only a half hour break and over 600 miles. The woman took pity on me and sent me to my cabin and said we could do the paper work in the morning. So I got to my cabin, it was a small one room place but it was warm and dry. I took and hot shower and hung up my gear. I made not one but two packages of delicious Ramen Pride. I also made myself some hot tea. That hit the spot. I was so sore I ached all over. Then I got into bed my hands were just throbbing. I fell asleep in seconds.
Here's a picture of my cabin the next morning
The Tiny Kitchenette
From the Outside
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